I Smell A Rat
by Invisible-Trinity
Summary: Hobbes, Eberts, and the Keeper encounter some R.O.U.S.'s. R&R please. Does include character from previous fic.


I Smell A Rat  
  
By Invisible Trinity  
  
Disclaimer: All characters and things related to The Invisible Man are the property of Sci-Fi and USA Network except for the character of Lillianne. I can dream though.  
  
Warning: This fic links back to a previous one of mine, "Love at First Sound"  
  
Hobbes walked into the Agency with a slight spring in his step. Today was going to be a great day. The sun was shining; he had just had the best breakfast of jelly donuts and coffee, strong and black. Best of all, Darien was out on assignment with Alex, which meant that Bobby would not have any assignments for a while. Hobbes breathed in deeply and headed towards the Keep; he might as well take advantage of a good situation. As he reached the Keep, a hand tapped Hobbes on the shoulder.  
  
"Robert..."  
  
Hobbes turned around. There stood Eberts, holding several documents in his hand. "The Official would like to see you in his office," he finished.  
  
"Thanks...EBERTS," Hobbes responded. So close, yet so far.  
  
Bobby approached the Official's Office; he placed his hand on the doorknob. He would have turned around, except Eberts was right behind him. With a sigh, Hobbes went in and sat down.  
  
"Ah, Hobbes. Today is your lucky day," The Official began.  
  
Hobbes perked up, but then pulled back slightly suspicious. He knew the Official too well. "Uh, really, sir? Why?" Bobby scratched his head with a slightly quizzical look on his face.  
  
The Official chuckled. "Well, since your partner is on another assignment and there seems to be a lack of activity all around, I'm putting you on paper duty again."  
  
Hobbes sat with his mouth open. "Um, sir, I really don't think..."  
  
"Nonsense, Bobby," The Official interrupted, "You deserve it."  
  
"Sir, if this is about that raise I asked for..."  
  
"No, if's, and's, or but's. Your on paper duty with Eberts," The Official said sternly. "Have a good time." He smiled deviously. "Oh, and Bobby, you're not getting that raise."  
  
Hobbes, seeing that there was no way to object, simply stood up, took a slight bow, and followed Eberts to the file room. Another day with Eberts, filing documents. The very idea sent shivers up and down Bobby's spine. Then again, it hadn't been all that bad, last time. Maybe he wouldn't mind it so much.  
  
"Robert," Eberts said enthusiastically, "I'm really looking forward to this. Our last filing day was very fruitful indeed. You and I seem to work very well as a team."  
  
Eberts smiled and his eyes brightened; his face had an expression on it that reminded Hobbes of a kid in a candy store. Hobbes groaned a little. Now he remembered every detail of last time. Eberts handed Bobby a huge stack of papers.  
  
"Now, Robert, I trust that you remember the correct procedure to follow in filing reports of the mint, taupe, and pink colors."  
  
"Ya, ya, ya." Bobby dismissed.  
  
The two began filing papers away in the cabinets.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Six hours had passed. Hobbes and Eberts had finally reached the bottom of the final cabinet in the room. Hobbes had removed his jacket and shoes. He had rolled up his sleeves and unbuttoned his shirt. The temperature was not well regulated in the file room. He sat on a cardboard box. Eberts had also removed his jacket, but only loosened his tie.  
  
"Well, Robert," Eberts said cheerfully, but slightly tired, "This should be the end of a good day of hard work." Eberts inhaled deeply taking in the last of the toner vapors from the un-filed papers. Hobbes just shook his head. Eberts was one strange customer. Eberts leaned over and opened the final drawer. As is squeaked open, Eberts' eyes widened. He let out a huge wail. It echoed throughout the Agency.  
  
The Official looked around his office.  
  
The Keeper looked up from her work.  
  
Hobbes stood up just in time to catch a fainting Eberts.  
  
"Eberts? What's a matter?" Hobbes asked completely concerned.  
  
"Th-th-th-...the...gone!" Eberts lost consciousness.  
  
Hobbes slowly lowered Eberts to the floor and leaned over to see the file drawer.  
  
The drawer was full of papers that appeared to have been chewed up by something, maybe a rat, but the job was too big for a single rat. Hobbes investigated carefully.  
  
Where could a bunch of rats come from? Bobby thought. The answer: the Keep. Well, he had better take Eberts with him, so Claire could get a good look at him. Hobbes pulled Eberts over his shoulder and headed out of the file room.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Claire had been working all day in her Keep. She was studying a new form of counteragent, one that would last longer and work faster than the original formula. It had been hard work. Claire rubbed her eyes. She sighed slightly; she had been hoping that someone would rescue her from the monotony, but no one had come. Claire just went back to work.  
  
Bobby entered the keep relatively quietly. He still had Eberts slung over his shoulder. He looked at Claire; she looked so beautiful with her little nose scrunched up in concentration. Bobby really regretted bothering her.  
  
"Hey, Keep," Bobby started, "I..."  
  
"Oh, Bobby," Claire perked up. Her savior had come. "You have no idea how happy I am to see...you," she trailed off. She looked up and her jaw dropped with surprise. "What in the...? Albert?"  
  
Claire got up and took a look at the still unconscious Eberts. "What...? How...? Here, follow me."  
  
Claire led Bobby over to Darien's chair. Hobbes set Eberts down, relieved to get the weight off his shoulders. Claire looked at Eberts with deep concern. She'd never seen Eberts like this.  
  
She slapped his face slightly. "Albert?" Eberts lay still.  
  
"Bobby, what happened?" Claire inquired as she began to give Eberts the once over.  
  
Bobby scratched his head. How was he supposed to explain this? "Well, Claire, you're not going to believe this but... Something, something big, ate a whole drawer of files his storage. Eberts, here, saw it and..." Hobbes put his hands on his cheeks like the kid from Home Alone and pretended to pass out. Claire nodded, a little shocked.  
  
Just then, Eberts began to come to. He seemed a little woozy and tried to sit up, but couldn't. There had just been too great a shock to his system.  
  
"Albert?" Claire asked gently. "How are you feeling?"  
  
"Ya, Eberts," Hobbes added, "you gave us quite a scare there, my friend."  
  
"Uh...I...oh...the horror." Eberts stuttered. He was still a little dazed from the whole experience. "I...it's just terrible. We'll have to refile everything..."  
  
Claire shook her head. "It looks like he hadn't quite snapped out of it. We should probably leave him to rest... Bobby, could you take me to the file room? I want to see exactly what happened."  
  
Hobbes nodded. He took Claire's hand and led her to the file room. He gestured to the drawer and Claire bent down to take a closer look.  
  
"That's odd," she remarked. "It looks like some kind of animal's been through here."  
  
"Animal?" Hobbes inquired, "What kinda animal?"  
  
"Well, I'm not sure," Claire said, furrowing her brow. "It looks like some kind of rodent, but much larger. Hmm..." Claire picked up a piece of fur that clung to the cabinet. It was white and course. "You know," Claire began, "If I didn't know any better, I'd think this was rat fur."  
  
"Exactly what I was thinking." Hobbes agreed.  
  
"Hmm, this is highly peculiar. I think I need to look at this more closely, in my lab." Claire stood.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Back in the lab, Claire looked deeply into her microscope; she wanted to the fur sample thoroughly. She typed something into her computer. Hobbes simply stood and watched. Claire was just so captivating to him. Her hair, the way she held her pen, the way she scrunched up her nose...Hobbes sighed deeply. Claire looked up.  
  
"I don't believe it," The Keeper said astonished.  
  
"What was that?" Hobbes said, tuning into reality again.  
  
"Do you remember the rat skeleton Darien brought in awhile back?"  
  
"Which one?"  
  
"It was during the Simon Cole incident."  
  
"Oh, now I remember. Ya, so?" Bobby was a little confused.  
  
"Well, this fur matches the make-up of those rats. They were specially bred to with stand the experimentation with quicksilver. This fur came from one of those rats."  
  
Hobbes leaned in. "But, I thought you said that none of them were left after...well, you know."  
  
"Well, that's what I thought," Claire said, just as perplexed as Hobbes was before. "I don't quite understand how this could be possible. Everything was destroyed."  
  
"I think I can help there, Doctor." Eberts shouted from across the room. He got out of the Chair, finally, and wobbly walked over to Hobbes and the Keeper. "All but two rats were accounted for at the site. The Agency saw no possible security risk with the rats, therefore, there was no further investigation."  
  
"Eberts," Claire said as the information sank in, "Are you telling me that the Agency allowed genetically altered rats to interact with normal rats?" Claire scrunched her face in frustration. "There could be catastrophic environmental consequences to this. If the rats interbred with an ordinary rat, it could produce a plethora of super rats roaming the city!" Claire grabbed her forehead in frustration.  
  
"That is highly unlikely, Doctor." Eberts said calmly. "The rats were genetically altered to the point that they could not interbreed with other non-altered rats. Also, the rats' sexes were identified as being both male. That is why we presumed there would be few ramifications to letting the rats go."  
  
Bobby and Claire stared at Eberts in amazement. Sometimes it was just astounding how thorough Eberts' knowledge of events was.  
  
"Why wasn't I told?" Claire said, now a little peeved. Eberts simply gave her an it's-confidential look. "Never mind." Claire just shook her head.  
  
"Now, wait," Hobbes said, trying to sort things out, "There is no way two rats made that much damage. Bobby Hobbes knows his rats. All this just doesn't add up, my friend."  
  
"I'm afraid I have to agree with Robert." Eberts frowning a little.  
  
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!" Hobbes said, taking offense.  
  
Eberts ignored his comment. "It's obvious that the damage was done by something more numerous."  
  
"Or, something bigger..." Claire added, trailing off.  
  
"Where'd you get that idea?" Hobbes asked.  
  
Claire simply pointed to a dark corner of the Keep. There seemed to be a large object, moving in the shadows. Claire just stared at the corner, a look of fear spreading across her face. Hobbes squinted, struggling to see what was there. Eberts squinted too, but then his eyes slowly widened.  
  
"It's a...It's a--" Eberts broke off.  
  
"...r-r-rat!!" Claire finished.  
  
"What?" Hobbes said in disbelief.  
  
Just then, the object sprang from the shadows. It indeed was a giant rat. A giant, vicious, white rat. It headed toward the trio, centering on Claire. Bobby, seeing the impending danger, leaped onto the rat and began to wrestle it away from her.  
  
"Smeg," Eberts exclaimed.  
  
Claire, gathering her bearings, quickly grabbed for the nearest needle. She filled it with a fluid, and dove for the rat as well.  
  
"Claire.." Hobbes screamed, "Stay away, Claire. You'll get hurt."  
  
"Listen, Bobby," Claire commanded, "Just hold it still for one second. Think of Darien when he's quicksilver mad."  
  
Bobby quickly pinned the rat down, using his body weight to keep it from flailing about. Claire leaned in and injected the fluid into the rat's neck. The rat slowly stopped struggling, until it was motionless. Everyone relaxed. Hobbes sat back, leaning on the rat, wiping the sweat from his brow.  
  
Claire turned to Hobbes and began to look him over. "Bobby, what were you thinking? You could have been injured!"  
  
Bobby just brushed himself off. "Bobby Hobbes knows no limits. Besides, he was going for you, Claire. What could I do?"  
  
Claire just rolled her eyes. "Well, Bobby, that's very sweet...Here, stand up. I need to look you over." Claire stood and held out her hand. Hobbes took it and stood as well. Her skin was so soft. Bobby could feel a sudden soreness in his right arm. Actually, it was more like a sharp pain.  
  
"Bobby! That rat injured you!" Claire exclaimed.  
  
"Nah, it's just a flesh wound." Bobby said, planning to walk it off. He looked down at his arm. There were four large, deep claw marks in his arm. The rat had managed to tear his entire sleeve off his arm. "Okay...so maybe it's not just a flesh wound."  
  
Claire led Hobbes to the chair and began to patches arm. Meanwhile, Eberts began searching the entire room. He had grabbed a large pole and poked at the shadows.  
  
"Albert!" Claire said sharply. "What on earth are you doing?"  
  
"Doctor, do you remember what I said earlier?" Eberts said concerned.  
  
"About what?"  
  
"About the rats."  
  
"Yes. You said..."  
  
"That there were two rats." Hobbes finished. He had realized what Eberts was doing. This was not good.  
  
Eberts nodded. The three looked at each other and sighed collectively.  
  
"I believe we should tell the Official," Eberts suggested.  
  
"Do you think he'll believe us?" Hobbes said cynically.  
  
Eberts started to say something, then decided against it. He shook his head.  
  
"Well, then," Claire asked smartly, "What do you propose we do?"  
  
"A good ol' hunt through the agency."  
  
Claire and Eberts rolled their eyes. Then nodded. What else could they do?  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
The trio walked down the halls of the Agency, going room by room, searching for anything large, furry, and white. Hobbes held his gun, full of tranquilizing darts. Claire also had a tranquilizer gun. Eberts held onto the pole he had found in the Keep. They were searching room by room; opening doors and searching the places. They finally reached the last room in the agency: Claire's auxiliary lab. A large sign was posted on the door: DO NOT ENTER: LEVEL 5 SECURITY.  
  
"That's odd. No one's been in here in ages..." Claire said confused.  
  
They tried the doorknob. It was locked. Claire grabbed her keys and unlocked the door. It slowly creaked open. There was a person inside sitting at a table littered with various files going over files furiously. It was a slender woman with long black hair. It was Lillianne. No one had seen hide nor hair of her in nearly a month. Actually, she was supposed to be in witness protection. The room was a complete mess. A bed was along the far wall. A relatively loud humming noise was coming from a large machine along the opposite wall.  
  
"Lillianne? What are you doing here?" Hobbes asked a little suspicious.  
  
Lillianne looked up, just as shocked as everyone else. "Agent Hobbes, what.... wait, that's what you asked. Um...it's confidential?...Is anyone else here?"  
  
Hobbes looked at Eberts and Claire. "Yes."  
  
"Darien's not with is he?" Lillianne looked a little disappointed.  
  
This was getting more awkward as time passed. Eberts finally chimed in. Thank Heavens for Eberts.  
  
"Dr. DuLac, you wouldn't have happened to see.... hear anything out of the ordinary, have you?" Eberts said in his general matter of fact tone.  
  
"Um...no, I don't think so." Lillianne was grateful for the change in subject. "I don't think I've heard anything, but then again, my equipment is quite noisy."  
  
"Would you mind if we look around a bit?" Claire asked, finally gathering her senses. There had just been too many shocks in one day.  
  
"Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt."  
  
Eberts and Claire proceeded into the lab, carefully stepping around equipment. It looked as though Lillianne had always been there.  
  
Hobbes leaned up against the table where Lillianne was sitting. "So, Lil, what brings you here."  
  
"I'm really not supposed to say," Lillianne said cautiously.  
  
"Ah, c'mon, Doc. We already know that you're here. I promise not to tell anyone. Bobby Hobbes does not go against his word."  
  
Lillianne still had her doubts, but it had been so long since she had talked to anyone.  
  
"Well, the Official agreed to keep me here and allow me to finish my research if I divert some of my funds to the Agency and do some research for him as well," Lillianne sighed deeply. "That's what we agreed, and I would have protection. I was also to keep myself incognito, but I guess that hasn't worked very well."  
  
"Doctor," Eberts began. Claire and Lillianne both turned to Eberts. "I meant Dr. DuLac...Um, I suggest that you don't move."  
  
"What--?" Lillianne sat up straight. Just then, a massive rat emerged from the under her desk. It was twice as large as the previous rat. It hissed loudly and charged into the room knocking over the table, and Lillianne with it. Eberts managed to grab her just before she hit the ground. She steadied herself against a wall, not sure of what was going on. The rat turned around and oriented on Claire. It charged quickly and knocked her down and slobbered all over her face.  
  
"Claire!!" Hobbes exclaimed charging at the rat. That was the second time a rat charged Claire, he thought in the back of his mind.  
  
"Bobby!" Claire shouted desperately trying to get the enormous animal off of her.  
  
Hobbes pounded his fists into the rodent with little effect. The rat tossed Hobbes off and ran towards Eberts, who still wielded his pipe. It stopped just in front of him and sniffed the air. It seemed to grin sinisterly at Eberts. It lifted its leg and relieved itself on a nearby pile of files. It seemed to laugh. Eberts wrung his fingers around the pipe. His left eye began to twitch. The rat, still not satisfied, faced Lillianne and bared its teeth. It began to run towards her, unbeknownst to her.  
  
"Lillianne!" That was the last straw. Eberts lifted the bar high in the air and struck the rat. He continued as though he were stuck in that mode, like a video game.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Hobbes rubbed his head and began to gather his wits again. Claire was at his side.  
  
"Bobby, that was...." She began.  
  
"Brave? Bobby Hobbes doesn't know the meaning of fear." He said smugly.  
  
"No. That was completely and utterly stupid!! I mean, I can understand the first time, but doing the same thing again?! And injured?! What were you think?!"  
  
Bobby just stared at her blankly.  
  
Claire sighed. "Thank you." She leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek.  
  
Just then, Bobby and Claire noticed Eberts "going postal" on the rat. It was nearly beaten to death. The rat could hardly move.  
  
"Eberts!" Claire and Bobby shouted in unison.  
  
Eberts stopped, midair and looked at the two. They both had looks of horror on their faces. Eberts slowly lowered his arms and straightened his suit.  
  
"I...I...Well, it asked for it!" Eberts shrugged his shoulders.  
  
The rat groaned slightly. Lillianne felt her way towards Eberts.  
  
"Albert! Did you save me?" she asked.  
  
"Um, well, I wouldn't say `saved,'" Eberts admitted timidly.  
  
"Thank you!" Lillianne wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him straight on the lips. Eberts turned bright red, and was left speechless.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
The Official frowned. This whole scenario seemed completely far-fetched.  
  
"Now, let me get this straight," he said skeptically. "The reason why the Keep is trashed, Bobby is injured and the filing is not done is because of a giant rat?"  
  
"Two R.O.U.S., sir." Eberts corrected.  
  
"An R.O. U. what?!"  
  
"A rodent of unusual size, sir."  
  
"Shut up, Eberts."  
  
"Yes, sir" Eberts stepped back.  
  
"Well, you see...sir," Hobbes began. "These rats ate a drawer full of paper and were extremely aggressive, sir."  
  
"Couldn't you have shot it?" The Official questioned.  
  
"Sir," Claire objected, "those rats are a genetic break through. Now we can study them alive...besides, there wasn't time for a gun."  
  
"Why was that?" The Official was becoming very impatient.  
  
"Well, sir," Claire said cautiously. "The rats apparently were attracted to the scent of my lab coat. I think it's the same material they used when the rats were created. They seemed to have a negative sense memory toward the material. They both attacked me immediately."  
  
The Official grunted. "And where did you find the last rat?"  
  
Bobby, Eberts, and Claire looked at each other. "In the hall," they concurred.  
  
The Official just shook his head. "Bobby, go home and get some rest. Claire, start cleaning the lab...And Eberts?"  
  
"Yes, sir?" Eberts replied.  
  
"Make sure that all the files are replaced."  
  
Eberts lowered his head. "Yes, sir."  
  
"Dismissed."  
  
The three walked gloomily out into the hall. The long day was going to be a very long week. 


End file.
